updated 02:55 pm EDT, Fri March 23, 2012

Company owns thousands of audio, video titles

Entertainment company ValCom has filed a lawsuit against Megaupload, demanding compensation for alleged copyright infringement. The company is said to hold the copyrights for over 6,000 audio and video titles, many of which it claims were found to be illegally distributed through the file sharing service.

A "significant number" of the ValCom titles were said to be illegally downloaded, however a specific number has yet to be disclosed. The company suggests it is entitled to actual damages or statutory damages ranging from $750 to $150,000 per title.

"Together with our friends at Microhits, Inc., we have implemented an aggressive initiative to acquire back-due royalties and compensation to assure that we receive all revenues that are due to the Company," said ValCom president and CEO Vince Vellardita.

The company admits that it is seeking to "secure millions of dollars of funds seized by government authorities" as part of a criminal investigation that has charged Megaupload with copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering. The government reportedly froze $42 million in assets.

ValCom is one of the first entities to file a civil lawsuit against Megaupload, though others are expected to follow. The MPAA recently asked Megaupload's server host, Carpathia, to retain all user data as potential evidence for civil proceedings. [viaThe Next Web]